Subject: Social Studies (4) Title: Prelude to the Creek Indian WarDescription: Kris White (Cohort 2: 2010-2011), Bear Exploration Center
Montgomery County Public School System Montgomery, AL
This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.
Students will study the culture of American Indians and settlers in Alabama during the early 1800s. Using a primary source document – a journal entry written by Peggy Dow in the 1810s and published in 1833 – students will travel with a woman as she and her family journey through Alabama on their way to Louisiana. Students will analyze parts of the document to learn how the settlers and Indians related to one another.Subject: Social Studies (4) Title: Living MuseumDescription: The students will research famous Alabamians, write an informative paragraph about their historical figure, and prepare a presentation for a school-wide living museum.
This is a College- and Career-Ready Standards showcase lesson plan.Subject: English Language Arts (3 - 5), or Social Studies (4 - 5) Title: Native Cultures Vs. Explorers in World CourtDescription: This lesson represents the end result of a project-based, hands-on unit in which children represent a culture they've researched in a World Court Hearing against the explorers they encountered.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or Information Literacy (K - 12), or Social Studies (4) Title: Alabama's Five Capitals and First GovernorsDescription: Students will research the five sites of Alabama's capital and the first governors of the state. They will create a presentation including the physical location of each site and the political and geographic reasons the site was chosen and abandoned, if applicable. The presentation will also include information about the (or a) governor that served while the capital was at the specific location they are researching.

Subject: English Language Arts (4), or Social Studies (3 - 4), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Creek War JournalsDescription: After a study of the Creek War, students will explore perspectives of families on both sides of the war. Students will compose journal entries from a selected social class of the era to develop and exhibit an understanding and appreciation for lives led by those who lived during the early 1800's.

Subject: Social Studies (4 - 5), or Technology Education (3 - 5) Title: Move the Cherokee PeopleDescription: During this lesson, students will explore facts about the Cherokee people, their history, their culture, and their future. This lesson will help students begin to realize how the actions of our predecessors affected people in the past and today. The Internet will be used as a research tool to help students learn more about the Trail of Tears. Students will also have the opportunity to produce a slideshow presentation to share their new knowledge about the Trail of Tears.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

Subject: Language Arts,Social StudiesTitle: Pueblo Pots: Read "When Clay Sings'' Add BookmarkDescription: In this activity, students will learn how to answer questions by examining objects as well as learn about a book about Native American culture named "When Clay Sings'' . This worksheet can help guide students while visiting a museum, library, website, or any location where objects are used to interpret the past. It is included in an "OurStory'' module entitled "Pueblo Pots'' .Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: War of 1812Add BookmarkDescription: In 1812, America went to war against Great Britain to assert its rights as an independent, sovereign nation, and to attempt the conquest of Canada. The major events of the War of 1812 are discussed here, including the burning of Washington, and the battles of Fort McHenry and New Orleans. This section of the online exhibition entitled The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, uses images and objects from the museum's collections to shed light on the conflict that gave the country a new symbol, the Star-Spangled Banner, and a new hero, Andrew Jackson.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Digital HistoryAdd BookmarkDescription: This website is a comprehensive set of web based resources and activities suitable for students at every grade level. Produced through a collaborative partnership including the National Park Service, the University of Houston, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the Chicago Historical Society, t he site features a digital textbook with hypertext links, virtual exhibits featuring letters, artwork and artifacts, an interactive timeline, a collection of e-lectures, inquiry based learning units, and an extensive collection of online resources like maps, charts, and primary sources.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social Studies,Language Arts,ScienceTitle: Constellation MakerAdd BookmarkDescription: Make your own constellation commemorating an American woman, like Maria Mitchell. Many cultures have used constellations to remember the stories of heroes, like the Greeks and some American Indians. Included in an OurStory module from Smithsonian's National Museum of American History entitled "Exploring the Sky'' , this activity is designed to help children and adults enjoy exploring history together through the use of children's literature, everyday objects, and hands-on activities.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: The War of 1812Add BookmarkDescription: Website for the PBS film'' War of 1812'' . Includes short scholarly essays on the American, British, Canadian Native American perspectives on the war, the role of black sailors and soldiers, diplomatic maneuvers, James Madison's leadership, and the military campaigns. Multiple lesson plans for elementary, middle and high school levels.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Eastern Indian WarsAdd BookmarkDescription: Coveting what remained of the Indian lands in the Southeast and lower South, the United States forced tribes to cede their "rights of occupancy" and give up their ancestral homelands. Students will learn about the Creek Indian War and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and the policies that led to the Trail of Tears, one of the most tragic episodes in American history in this section of the online exhibition, Price of Freedom: Americans at War . A non-flash version of this page is available: http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=3" Eastern Indian Wars .Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Language Arts,Social StudiesTitle: Where I Come FromAdd BookmarkDescription: In this lesson, from EDSITEment, students take research into their heritage a step beyond the construction of a family tree, traveling through cyberspace to find out what's happening in their ancestral homelands today and explore their sense of connection to these places in their past.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: An EDSITEment Tour of the National MallAdd BookmarkDescription: This page from EDSITEment features resources relating to Washington D.C.'s National Mall, and presents information about the history and landmarks of the Mall. Learn more about Washington D.C.'s rich history by visiting the EDSITEment lesson plans and EDSITEment-reviewed Web sites referenced on this page.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Not ''Indians,'' Many Tribes: Native American DiversityAdd BookmarkDescription: In this unit of five lessons, from EDSITEment, students heighten their awareness of Native American diversity as they learn about three vastly different Native groups in a game-like activity using archival documents such as vintage photographs, traditional stories, photos of artifacts, and recipes. This unit helps students study the interaction between environment and culture.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Language Arts,Social StudiesTitle: Go West: Imagining the Oregon TrailAdd BookmarkDescription: In this lesson from EDSITEment, students compare imagined travel experiences of their own with the actual experiences of 19th-century pioneers. After writing stories about contemporary cross-country journeys, students learn about the experiences of the emigrants who traveled on the Oregon Trail. They then create works of historical fiction in the form of picture books or letters, drawing upon the information they have gathered.Thinkfinity Partner: EDSITEmentGrade Span: 3,4,5

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Treasures of American History: National ChallengesAdd BookmarkDescription: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History provides a broad and complex view of the American experience. The valuable pieces of history displayed in this section of the online exhibition entitled "Treasures of American History'' document some of the struggles, conflicts, and controversies that have shaped the nation. Students will learn that by understanding the challenges of the past, they can draw lessons and inspiration for confronting new challenges in the present and future. The topics discussed in this section are: the American Revolution; slavery; westward expansion; the Civil War, women's suffrage, the Great Depression and World War II, the Civil Rights movement and AIDS. A Spanish version of the exhibition is available on the exhibition's homepage.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Keeping History: Plains Indian Ledger Drawings HomepageAdd BookmarkDescription: The drawings included in this online exhibition are first-person records of military conflicts, cultural life, and "Americanization." The website shares an American Indian perspective on westward expansion through primary sources. In the late 19th century, life was changing rapidly for the Natives who lived on the northern and southern plains. Native men developed a way of recording history through drawings on paper, often called "ledger drawings," in a mixture symbolic and representational illustration styles.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Southeastern Museums ConferenceAdd BookmarkDescription: Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) members include museum staff, corporate partners and other individuals, who benefit from the networking opportunities provided through this website, Members represent museum interests throughout the Southeastern United States.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: K,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: West Point in the Making of America ResourcesAdd BookmarkDescription: The collection of resources relating to military history and the United States Military Academy at West Point from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, includes an extensive bibliography, teacher and student resources and web links. It is included in the online exhibition entitled "West Point in the Making of America'' .Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

Subject: Social StudiesTitle: Creek War FlagAdd BookmarkDescription: The Creek War began on August 30, 1813, when a faction of Creek known as the Red Sticks attacked a contingent of 553 American settlers at Lake Tensaw, Alabama, north of Mobile. The British were believed to be a main ally of the Indians. In response to the Alabama attack, Jackson led 5,000 militiamen in the destruction of two Creek villages, Tallasahatchee and Talladega. The fighting lasted into the next year, culminating in Jackson's troops destroying the Creek defenses at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.Thinkfinity Partner: SmithsonianGrade Span: 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12